During a regular meeting that discussed disaster preparation, local government officials in Davao Oriental led by Governor Corazon Malanyaon has vowed to strengthen the capacity of the city and municipal governments here to implement Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction measures in the hope to nurture a culture of safety and resilience among the people.

City of Mati, Davao Oriental — Being one of the most vulnerable to disasters, the people of this province cannot be business as usual, they need to do more, according to Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon during a meeting with the province’s top local government officials as they discussed concrete steps that would help improve disaster response and promote disaster resiliency.

The governor wants her people to attain that level of disaster preparedness where they are well-prepared and well-informed of the disaster that they may be able to respond in a calm and educated way. The governor says the provincial government’s disaster preparedness programs in all barangays of the province would help capacitate communities to assess the local risks and find ways to reduce these risks.

The Philippine Business for Social Progress has turned over a rescue boat, a portable oxygen, life jackets, rescue aid and spine boards which they have donated to the provincial government of Davao Oriental.

During the meeting, local government officials have also discussed the importance of the “access to information” which has become as important as access to food and shelter. It has also become perishable making accurate and real-time information on demand. When a super typhoon hit the province in December 2012, information was shared in the whole province. The people knew a very strong typhoon was coming. But where would they go for safety as schools including private and government buildings being used as evacuation centers were also washed away?

The governor has told her people the memory of what happened in December 2012 here must be embedded in the hearts and minds, saying they owe it to those who died in Pablo and to future generations, especially the unborn, so they too benefit the lessons that might hopefully learn from what happened. The governor said the people should take advantage of scientific data like multi-hazard maps and other science-based information meant to guide recovery efforts. She said the people should know the multi-hazard maps themselves so that when calamity strikes, they can move on their own. She said the provincial government is implementing long-term disaster preparedness after receiving assistance from the national government, private sector and foreign donors.Local officials here have all agreed that some things cannot be done through shortcuts like climate change and that everyone must share responsibility and learn the causes and solutions to the problems. The governor says that there are threats that are predictable and even though most of them could not be stopped, “there is always a way to mitigate its effects.” She adds that, in the end, it is working with communities and having the right information at hand that helps keep a disaster from becoming a tragedy.

During the meeting, a series of talks focused on how government agencies and volunteers gear up and help people in times of disaster, if not help avoid disasters altogether. The governor says it is time for the government, civil society, private sector and citizens to collaborate on tangible solutions that will build communities that can withstand disasters. She has reminded fellow local government officials here that climate change adaptation and disaster preparedness, response and rehabilitation “are our shared responsibilities” as stewards of the next generation. The local officials here have all agreed that climate change is the “greatest humanitarian and development challenge of our time.”

The governor also said that the province of Davao Oriental has been consistently praised and awarded by the national government for creating a policy environment that can nurture a culture of safety and resilience. “We should always work together to help prevent the loss of life. Our province is one of the most vulnerable to the disastrous effects of climate change. And we are seeing this fact unfold before our eyes each time the typhoon hit our place,” says the visibly hopeful Governor Malanyaon as she stressed that there is a pressing need to strengthen the ability of the city and municipal governments to implement disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation policies and programs. The governor says that a strong political will at the national and local level can help bring about the big change we want to see.

However, the Philippine Business for Social Progress has turned over a rescue boat, a portable oxygen, life jackets, rescue aid and spine boards which they have donated to the provincial government of Davao Oriental. By Ferdinand Zuasola